Bill Denton wrote:

I've seen "negative flaps" mentioned on spec sheets before.

A guess would be flaps extending upward and killing lift necessitated by the
STOL nature of the aircraft.

Am I even close?

Yes and no. Yes, the flaps extend upwards. No, it doesn't have anything to do
with STOL. It's used to reduce drag and increase the cruise speed. I've found
that it is counterproductive above a certain altitude (somewhere around 8,000').
When -7 results in a nose-high attitude, I go back to 0 degrees. I don't often
get that high.

As far as using them for landing is concerned, it allows the pilot to
"three-point" the aircraft at a higher rate of speed. This gives you better
directional control during crosswind landings. Note that the "three-point"
landing under those circumstances is actually a two-point landing, but the
points are the tailwheel and the upwind main.

George Patterson
If a man gets into a fight 3,000 miles away from home, he *had* to have
been looking for it.